Top Current NFL Rivalries Part Two

6. New York Jets-New England Patriots

It is safe to say that there is no love lost between the New York Jets and New England Patriots. This rivalry dates back to 1960 when the Patriots and Jets (originally called the New York Titans) were charter members of the American Football League. The Patriots and Jets would face each other in the playoffs for the first time in 1985 and it was New England that forced four New York turnovers in winning the AFC Wild Card Game 26-14.

But their would be some juice added to the rivalry in 1997 when Jets owner Leon Hess lured head coach Bill Parcells away from the Patriots to come back to the Big Apple. Parcells was fresh off helping the Patriots reach the Super Bowl, but he wanted more say in personnel decisions which Hess gave him.

After reaching the AFC Championship Game during the 1998 NFL season, hopes were high for the Jets in 1999. New York would host the Patriots to begin the season, but the Jets would lose starting quarterback Vinny Testaverde to a ruptured Achilles in that game which ended his season. The Patriots would go on to defeat the Jets that afternoon 30-28. After the season Parcells would resign as Jets head coach to hand the reigns over to Bill Belichick. But on the very next day, Belichick would resign as Jets head coach to take the same position with the Patriots as the intensity in the rivalry was increasing.

The 2001 NFL season was interrupted due to the September 11th terrorist attacks. The Pats and Jets would meet in Week 2 at Foxboro Stadium. With the Jets leading 10-3 in the fourth quarter, the fate of both franchises would change. Jets linebacker Mo Lewis laid out Patriots quarterback Drew Bledsoe. The injury to Bledsoe would pave the way for Tom Brady to become the Patriots starting quarterback. The Jets would win the the battle but lose the war as Brady has tormented them ever since as he has won four Super Bowl Championships with Belichick as his head coach.

In 2006, against the wishes of Belichick, Eric Mangini left his post as Patriots defensive coordinator to become the head coach of the Jets. From this point on Mangini and Belichick weren’t exactly “kissing cousins” as their post game handshakes were quick at best. In Week 1 of the 2007 NFL season, the Patriots defeated the Jets 38-14 at Giants Stadium. During the game a staff member of the Patriots was caught filming the Jets defensive signals and the controversy was dubbed as “Spygate”. The NFL was informed of this illegal act by Mangini which resulted in the Patriots forfeiting a draft pick and Belichick being fined $500k.

In 2009, the Jets fired Mangini and replaced him with Rex Ryan. In Ryan’s introductory press conference with the Jets he let it be known that he didn’t come there to kiss Belichick’s rings. Ryan and the Jets backed this up in Week 2 of the 2009 NFL season with a 16-9 home victory over the Pats. In 2010, the Patriots and Jets would meet each other in the AFC Divisional Playoffs and Ryan got the best of Belichick as New York won 28-21. On Thanksgiving night 2012, the Jets would welcome the Patriots to MetLife Stadium and for Gang Green it was a huge disaster. The Patriots forced five turnovers and scored 35 points in the second quarter. In that same quarter, Jets starting quarterback Mark Sanchez ran into the rear end of his own lineman Brandon Moore and fumbled the football. The ball was recovered by Patriots safety Steve Gregory who returned it for a touchdown and the play will forever be referred to as the “butt fumble”.

The Patriots have the slight edge in the all-time series 60-54-1.

7. New York Giants-Philadelphia Eagles

Sometimes it feels as if the New York Giants and Philadelphia Eagles would be better served meeting in a back alley as opposed to the gridiron. This rivalry dates back to 1933 and the two stadiums in which these teams call home are only separated by about 90 minutes. North Jersey is the territory of the Giants while South Jersey belongs to the Eagles and both fans bases don’t have a problem going into enemy territory.

The Giants would dominate this series until the 1970’s when the Eagles took flight. In Week 12 of the 1978 NFL season, the Giants were leading the Eagles 17-12 late in the fourth quarter and they only needed to kneel down once more and the game would be over. Inexplicably Giants quarterback Joe Pisarcik attempted to hand the football off to fullback Larry Csonka who wasn’t prepared for it which caused the fumble. Eagles cornerback Herman Edwards scooped the football up and scampered 26 yards for the touchdown to give Philadelphia the shocking win. The game propelled the Eagles to the NFC Championship in 1980. After this surprising loss wholesale changes were made to the Giants which led them to becoming one of the dominant NFL teams in the 1980’s.

After splitting their two meetings in 1981, the Giants and Eagles would meet each other in the NFC Wild Card Game. The Eagles came into the game as the defending NFC Champs and the Giants were unimpressed by it. In the first quarter the Giants forced two Eagles turnovers on special teams and turned them into a pair of touchdowns as they raced to a 20-0 lead. The Giants would hold on to win the game 27-21 for their first postseason win since 1958.

The late 1980’s would see the Giants and Eagles have two of the stronger defenses in the league. The Giants were led by head coach Bill Parcells and the Eagles by their head coach Buddy Ryan in some good old-fashioned smash mouth football. In 1988, the Giants lost to the New York Jets in the final week of the season while the Eagles defeated the Dallas Cowboys and thus Philadelphia was crowned as champions of the NFC East. In 1990, the Giants began the season with a record of 10-0, but in the eleventh game of the season they were no match for the Eagles as they fell 31-13.

The late 1990’s and early 2000’s would see the series dominated by the Giants as they won nine straight versus the Eagles. The Eagles would make the short trip to the Meadowlands in January 2001 for the NFC Divisional Playoffs. On first play of the game, Giants kick returner Ron Dixon returned the opening kickoff 97 yards for a touchdown. The Giants would get a boost from their defense in the second quarter when cornerback Jason Sehorn batted and intercepted a pass from Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb and returned in 32-yards for a touchdown. The Giants would win the game 20-10 en route to advancing to their third Super Bowl in franchise history.

Week 16 of the 2001 NFL season would see the Giants and Eagles meet a Veterans Stadium in Philly. There Giants defensive end Michael Strahan would have a game for the ages. Strahan sacked McNabb four times, but he could not lead the Giants to victory as they were defeated by the Eagles 24-21.

In Week 2 of the 2006 NFL season, the Eagles jumped out to a 24-7 lead before the Giants rallied to score 17 points in the fourth quarter. The game would go to overtime where the Giants would win 30-24. This game also marked one of the best performances in the career of Giants wide receiver Amani Toomer. Toomer was battling cramps throughout the second half and overtime, but he found a way to haul in 12 receptions for 137 yards and a pair of touchdowns as the New York shocked Philadelphia 30-24. These two teams would meet that season in the NFC Wild Card Game where the Eagles would win 23-20 and it would mean wholesale changes for the Giants. Tim Lewis was let go as Giants defensive coordinator and he would be replaced by Eagles linebackers coach Steve Spagnuolo. The next season Spagnuolo would oversee the Giants defense that would put immense pressure on New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady in Super Bowl 42 as Big Blue shocked the world for their third Super Bowl Title.

The Giants and Eagles would get reacquainted with one another in the 2008 NFC Divisional Playoffs. The Eagles thwarted the Giants plans of repeating as Super Bowl Champions by knocking them off 23-11.

In 2010, the Eagles would orchestrate the “Miracle at the Meadowlands Part 2”. In Week 15, first place was on the line in the NFC East. Midway through the fourth quarter the Giants held a 31-10 lead before the Eagles stormed back. With just over a minute left in regulation, the Eagles would tie the score at 31 when quarterback Michael Vick found wide receiver Jeremy Maclin for a 13-yard touchdown pass. With a few seconds left the Giants would punt the football away to Eagles returner DeSean Jackson who made them pay dearly with a 65-yard touchdown return as Philadelphia shocked New York 38-31.

The Eagles have won the last two meeting between these two, but the Giants lead the all-time series 85-79-2.

8. Cincinnati Bengals-Baltimore Ravens

The rivalry between the Cincinnati Bengals and the Baltimore Ravens hasn’t come into vogue until recently. The rivalry started in 1996 in the old AFC Central when the Ravens (who were the original Cleveland Browns) moved to Baltimore. The Bengals were bottom feeders for quite some time until 2005 when they won their first division title since 1990. Since 2009, the rivalry between the Ravens and Bengals has increased due to both clubs being two of the better defensive teams in the National Football League. The Bengals and Ravens have combined to win four division titles since 2009 while Baltimore leads to all-time series 20-18.

9. Chicago Bears-Green Bay Packers

The rivalry between the Chicago Bears and the Green Bay Packers is the oldest one in the National Football League as it dates back to November 1921. There’s a slew of football legends that have been affiliated with the Bears and Packers. Bears founder George Halas along with Packers founder Curly Lambeau are two of the most iconic figures in professional football history.

The Bears have always preached defense as Halas had his famed “Monsters of the Midway”. That legacy spilled over to the 1960’s when Bears linebacker Dick Butkus became the face of delivering pain in the NFL. This mindset would be personified by the 1985 Bears defense as they only allowed 198 points that season en route to winning the Super Bowl.

The Packers would go on to be defined by their powerful teams of the 1960’s. Under head coach Vince Lombardi, the Packers would win five NFL Title during that decade including the first two Super Bowls.

The Bears and Packers have combined to place 50 people into the Pro Football Hall of Fame while Chicago leads the all-time series 93-91-6.

10. New York Giants-Dallas Cowboys

The New York Giants and Dallas Cowboys will forever be intertwined. The Cowboys joined the National Football League as an expansion team in 1960. The Cowboys called upon Giants defensive coordinator Tom Landry to be the team’s first head coach. The first contest between the two clubs in 1960 would result in a tie, but by the end of the decade the Cowboys would begin to dominate the series as they were on their way to becoming one of the top teams in the NFL. The Cowboys dominance of the Giants would spill over to the 1970’s as Dallas would go 17-3 versus New York during the decade.

The series would begin to shift in 1981 when the Giants defeated the Cowboys 13-10 in the final game of the regular season for their first postseason appearance since 1963. In Week 18 of the 1993 NFL season, the NFC Eastern Division Title was on the line when the Cowboys came to the Meadowlands to face the Giants. Cowboys running back Emmitt Smith would suffer a separated shoulder in the first half, but in didn’t stop him for rushing for 168 yards as Dallas would win the division en route to their second consecutive Super Bowl Title.

In 2007, the Cowboys swept the Giants and they had the best record in the NFC heading into the playoffs. But it was the Giants that shocked the Cowboys in the NFC Divisional Playoffs at Texas Stadium as they headed toward winning their third Super Bowl Championship in franchise history.

In Week 17 of the 2011 NFL season, the Cowboys and Giants would meet in a winner-take-all battle for the NFC East Title. The Giants got the scoring started in the first quarter when quarterback Eli Manning hit wide receiver Victor Cruz for a 74-yard touchdown pass. The Giants would build a 21-0 lead as they would go on to win the game 31-14. The Giants would ride this wave of momentum to their fourth Super Bowl Championship in franchise history.

The Cowboys have won the last four games in the series and they have the all-time edge over the Giants 61-43-2.